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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29705253">Night Shift</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/needles/pseuds/needles'>needles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bokuaka Detective drabbles [50]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 17:06:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,068</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29705253</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/needles/pseuds/needles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>When Akaashi becomes utterly absorbed in his work time ceases to have any meaning...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Bokuaka Detective drabbles [50]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2116251</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Night Shift</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bokuto looked sadly at the pile of shattered fragments. Hundreds of splinters of bone sat in the tray, barely recognisable as bone at all. It looked more like the output of a woodchipper. Keiji pulled up his stool, sat his bottle of Elmer’s glue beside him and began studying the tray. It never ceased to amaze and awe Bokuto, this ability of his to identify each fragment and piece it together. The ultimate human jigsaw.</p>
<p>Keiji scanned the heap and finally his fingers reached delicately for one piece and then a second. He held them together, checking the fit. Satisfied with his choice he took a little glue and stuck them together. The half inch fragment was placed carefully on a sand tray to dry. He began looking for his next pair.</p>
<p>Bokuto had watched this process enough times now to know that he would start by joining small pieces, then the small pieces would be paired into larger ones. That would continue until the fragments were big enough to be recognisable as particular parts of the skull. Finally he would join those, fill in tiny gaps with the remaining fragments and it would be complete. Skulls as crushed as this one required him to be extremely patient, often he would decide a mistake had been made and dissolve the glue to start again. The whole process would take hours, sometimes all night.</p>
<p>Once, Sarukui or Yukie would have stayed, watching over him, supplying him with coffee and tea. Now it was Bokuto’s self-appointed job and they had silently acquiesced, recognising his need.</p>
<p>It wasn’t just his protective instinct that made him do it, he had been mesmerised the first time he watched Keiji and the wonder remained. He could, and did, watch him work for hours. It was when he seemed most true to himself and when Bokuto first saw the compassion Keiji so rarely displayed to others. His face was luminous in the light from his lamp, bathing him in a soft pure glow. His forehead was marked by a tiny crease of concentration which told Bokuto that behind that serene exterior a mind like a supercomputer was running at full power, processing every tiny detail of the wisp of bone between his slender, gloved fingers.</p>
<p>This was the one time in each case when Bokuto was jealous of the victim. They were Keiji’s sole focus of attention; they got to feel the touch of his hands, which managed to be gentle and intimate even through the latex gloves. It had once crossed Bokuto’s mind in the early hours of the morning that had he ever ended up a nameless soldier sitting in storage he couldn’t have wished for a more caring person to identify his bones, and he had offered up a prayer of thanks for that on behalf of all his former comrades in arms.</p>
<p>The pieces in the sand tray were slowly multiplying. As the pile of fragments gradually diminished the matches became a little quicker as Keiji had fewer pieces to check. Finally, satisfied that he could match nothing further he began studying the paired fragments, selecting two which he thought were part of the sphenoid. Another match, but with a tiny gap. He scanned his remaining singletons again until he spotted a potential match, checking it against the others he allowed himself a small, satisfied smile and glued it against one larger piece. When that was set, he would add its partner.</p>
<p>Hours passed, along with several empty and partially drunk cups of coffee. A recognisable skull was now growing on the table, reborn from the mountain of fragments like a phoenix from the ashes. Keiji joined another sizeable portion of the occipital to the rest and straightened slightly, stretching his neck as he did so. In a flash Bokuto was behind him, massaging his tired shoulders. Keiji sighed as the stiffness was eased by the warmth of Bokuto’s hands. His frown fading he allowed himself to relax for a few moments as the glue dried. As soon as he reached for the bones again Bokuto dropped his hands and silently retreated to his chair once more. No words were spoken, none had been needed. </p>
<p>The pale light of pre-dawn was just showing through the windows of the lab when Keiji placed the final fragment of zygomatic into place and sat the completed skull on a tray for Yukie to reconstruct the victim’s face. Even from his limited knowledge Bokuto could now tell male from female. This was a woman, her skull was smooth and lightly built, and her cheekbones were high. He suspected Yukie’s drawings would be quite striking. Her skills too were remarkable but without Keiji’s ability to rebuild the skull Yukie would have nothing to draw.</p>
<p>Keiji pulled off his gloves, yawned, and reached for his latest coffee, taking a deep drink.</p>
<p>“It amazes me every time I see you do that.”</p>
<p>“What; drink coffee?”</p>
<p>He chuckled softly. “No Keiji; build a skull back from nothing but a pile of scraps. I really don’t think anyone else could have done it.”</p>
<p>“There are several people who can do it Koutarou.”</p>
<p>“Not with such care as you do; and I bet they wouldn’t spend all night doing it.”</p>
<p>“Well our cases are urgent and I admit I find a great deal of satisfaction in being able to transmogrify a collection of shattered fragments into an identifiable skull.”</p>
<p>“I’d also like to bet that not many people could pull an all-nighter like that and still use a word like transmogrify in a coherent sentence.” Bokuto grinned.</p>
<p>Keiji yawned again.</p>
<p>“Ok Keiji; leave that for Yukie, I’m taking you home to bed.” Bokuto grabbed his jacket and took Keiji by the elbow, ushering him towards the door.</p>
<p>“No breakfast?” Keiji asked.</p>
<p>“Fine, Diner, then bed. I think we both need some sleep.”</p>
<p>“That’s not what we usually do in bed Koutarou?” he pouted.</p>
<p>“Well it will be this time, remember those words we said a couple of months ago, loving and cherishing means looking after each other too and if you and I don’t get some sleep then we’ll be moving onto the sickness bit pretty quick.”</p>
<p>He smiled. “Ok Koutarou, you can make it up to me when we wake up.”</p>
<p>“Now that, babe, goes without saying.” Bokuto laughed, throwing his arm around his husband as they left the lab.</p>
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